An official visit to the London 2012 Olympic Park – March 9th, 2012

Invited by the London 2012 Organising Committee, representatives from CEEDS and Cambridge University visited the London Olympic Park in Stratford, East London on March 9th, before it is officially revealed to the public this summer.

This official visiting tour, which has been specially organised by the London 2012 Inspire Programme, is to award organisations and/or organisers who have involved in planning/delivering the Inspire Projects across the country and give them a unique opportunity to visit the Olympic site. The visit started on a special tour bus outside the Pudding Mill Lane DLR Station, where the entrance to the park will be situated during the Game.

Guided by Ms. Nicola McFarlene, organiser of the London 2012 Inspire Programme, we visited the Olympic Park including several venues for the Game, such as the Olympic Stadium (or the so called “London Bowl”), Aquatics Centre, Velodrome, Copper Box, Water Polo Arena, Olympic Village, IBC/MPC (the “Media Centre”). Although the whole park still needs tidy-up before the Games, many of these venues have already been completed and started to run some test events. During the one-hour visit, we have not only learned the function of these venues and some interesting stories behind them, but also got some knowledge about the planning, construction, sustainability which relates to the Park’s legacy after the Olympics.

London 2012 is the third time for this city to host the Olympic Games for the whole world. Whilst with confidence, there is lots of work to be done before and after the Games. Through this special tour, we are happy to see that all of the construction work have been carried out according to the plan. We are also happy to know that via the Games, the East London area will be transformed from an isolated industrial area into a community with beautiful parks and thus more suitable for people to live. This is probably the biggest legacy the Games will leave for the future generations.

Gathering outside the Olympic Park Visiting Centre

Olympic Park Main Entrance

Olympic Park Tour Bus

Guide is introducing the Olympic Park and Venues

Olympic Stadium – the “London Bowl”

Olympic Stadium and the “Orbit” – the largest sculpture of UK

Aquatics Centre – venue for swimming and diving

Velodrome – venue for cycling

Basketball Arena – venue for basketball, will be dismantled after the game

Copper Box – venue for handball and modern Pentathlon

Olympic and Paralympic village – around 23,000 athletes and officials will be staying here

IBC/MPC (the “Media Centre”) – will host 20,000 journalists and media people during the Games

One of the canals through the Olympic Park

Olympic Park construction site overview

Workers are building up scaffolds for the Hockey court

Overlook the Olympic Stadium and Orbit from the Pudding Mill Lane DLR Station